STANLEY, Idaho -- A fish that state officials once thought would be extinct by now is returning to Idaho in numbers not seen in decades.
The sockeye salmon, which has been an endangered species for nearly twenty years, is now giving scientists hope -- hope that this once-dwindling fish could one day return to Idaho in the millions.
In 1992, only one sockeye salmon migrated back to Idaho, he was given the name 'Lonesome Larry.'
But this year, scientists have already counted more than 2,000 of the fish at the last dam they migrate through in Washington state.
Scientists think in the future the numbers will get even higher.
Redfish Lake was the meeting place for politicians, scientists, and fish experts on Wednesday. But the main guests were the sockeye salmon ending their 900 mile journey from the Pacific Ocean in the Sawtooth Valley.
"I think we crossed the threshold here today and it was displayed by the fish that were swimming up the river here today," said Steve Wright of the Bonneville Power Administration.
You could say the welcoming party "greeted" the salmon and scientists measured, weighed, then released them to Redfish Lake.
The amount of them swimming back to Idaho pleased the tribes of the Shoshone Valley, who petitioned for the sockeye to be listed as endangered.
"It's an integral part of our heritage. These are our aboriginal lands. This is where our people are from," said Chad Colter of the Shoshone Valley Tribes.
"It means a lot to the tribes, getting toward recovery. We're not there yet but give us a few more years we'll see where we're at and hopefully we can start harvesting," said Chad Colter of the Shoshone Valley Tribes.
That may not be too far down the road.
Since the near extinction of the sockeye, government agencies have made it a priority to increase their survival by breeding them at hatcheries, and improving passage through the dams.
"This is clearly a sign of success. This is the largest return since 1955 of fish back to Redfish Lake. In 55 years its the best we've been able to do. Our sense is that we are now releasing 150,000 smolts a year. We've acquired another hatchery facility, We expect that within five years, we'll be releasing a million fish per year," said Steve Wright of the Bonneville Power Administration.
Scientists are amazed by the success of this year's return. It was only 18 years ago the fish were nearly a thing of the past.
"One year, one fish. Larry, that was it. And during a whole ten year period to only have 16 fish return, at that point we felt like it would take a real miracle, literally, to bring the sockeye salmon back to Idaho," said Dr. Wayne Wright of Idaho Fish and Game Commission.
And that miracle may be now. Dr. Wright says it's a combination of good science, good timing and good water conditions.
Fishermen hope that leads to more wild salmon.
"That hatchery influence versus the natural origin is going to be a continued debate. Everybody knows that recovery is about natural origin fish, so Idaho Rivers United is going to continue to stress natural origin fish as the way to go. Hatcheries are great for fishermen but that doesn't accomplish our natural recovery goals," said Tom Stuart of Idaho Rivers United.
Scientists want the same thing.
"When these fish are naturally reproducing in the wild and reproducing themselves without the aid of the hatchery that's when people are really going to be shown that these really are fish that do belong in these basins and can recover and sustain themselves," said Barry Thom of the NOAA Fisheries.
Scientists say, as anything in nature, there tend to be cycles.
So as the numbers of the sockeye gradually increase, there could be good years and bad years.
But overall they feel they've come up with a formula that works to increase the population of the sockeye.
